Hey, Lady

Thank you to Shaw Patton and everyone at Barzakh for publishing my poem “Hey, Lady” in their Winter 2024 issue. There’s a fabulous description of the magazine on the website describing the name which refers to “the connecting link, the “between” of something, such as different spheres of existence. As a temporal concept it can be, and historically was, considered an interval of time.”

And in the editorial note, Shaw Patton says “ “barzakh” in Arabic refers to a place between death and resurrection.” It’s a beautiful online magazine out of the University at Albany, SUNY.

To read the rest of the issue, click on the cover image below.

The Haunted States of America

In July, a middle grade anthology will be published by Godwin Books/Henry Holt, with a scary story from each state. Included inside is “The Michigan Triangle,” my story about Lake Michigan, lighthouses, ghosts, and sinking ships. Thank you to Kort Nash, editor, for working with me on this, and to SCBWI for choosing my story to represent Michigan.

The cover and illustrations within were done by Solomon Hughes.

It’s available for preorder! Click on the cover image above to buy it from Bookshop, or search for it wherever you buy books. Here’s the publisher description:

Fifty two different stories. Fifty two different Authors. Endless fright for all ages.

From the Jersey Devil to La Llorona, each story included introduces a new chill inducing, stomach churning monster, spectre, or poltergeist certain to keep you up at night. A broad ranging collection of authors have united to unearth the scariest lore from each state in the US, as well as D.C. and Puerto Rico. Make sure to strap in for this spooky cross country tour, but be extra careful not to let any of these terrors follow you home.

Godwin Books/Henry Holt

Steady As A Surgeon

Thank you Leslie Jill Patterson, Josh Luckenbach, and everyone at Iron Horse Literary Review for including “Steady As A Surgeon” in Volume 25.2, the Party Issue. In the editor’s note, Leslie Jill Patterson describes the story “in which a grief-stricken woman seduces someone on the wagon to fall off of it.” I’m looking forward to reading all of the stories and poems in this issue.

A Particular Sense of Highway Comradery

Thank you to everyone at Slag Glass City for publishing my creative nonfiction “A Particular Sense of Highway Comradery.” Special thanks to Hannah Rutkowski, Assistant Editor, for the wonderful communication; to Barrie Jean Borich, Editor, for accepting this piece; and to Barrie Jean Borich and Janelle Vasquez for the thoughtful edits.

The Haunted States of America Cover and Pre-Order Link

The Haunted States of America (Godwin Books/Henry Holt) has a cover, a very scary cover, illustrated by Solomon Hughes.

The book will be available July 9, 2024. Inside are 52 middle grade horror stories, one for each state. Puerto Rico and DC, too. “The Michigan Triangle” is my story about lighthouses, cousins, and the sunken ships in Lake Michigan.

Preorder it here.

December Sky

Thank you to Taylor Meredith and the team at Rock & Sling for including “December Sky” in Issue 17.1. This is a lovely, print-only magazine with thoughtful notes from each contributor.

Soap and Water

Thank you to Michael Hurley and the ninth letter team for including my short fiction in the summer online issue. The theme was invisibility. Here’s the opening from the editorial note:

With this theme, we asked our writers to show us what we cannot see, from the hidden lines that connect us to the secret walls that keep us separate. We asked our writers to find the ghosts that haunt the edges, and to capture them before they disappear. We asked not just to see, but to be made to believe. And so they did. And so, we do.

What then lies beneath, behind, below? 

“Soap and Water” addresses invisibility from a service perspective.